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BROTHER YOSIF (JOSEPH) STALIN KIM ROANE
Fredericksburg, VA- Brother Yosif (Joseph) Stalin Kim Roane entered Omega Chapter on November 8, 2021, Washington DC Veteran Affairs Medical Center. He was born to the late Joseph J. Roane and Sadie Russel Roane in Uzbekistan, Tashkent, on December 4, 1931. Brother Roane was initiated into Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated on January 8, 1953, at Epsilon Gamma Chapter, Saint Paul’s College, Virginia. Brother Roane was a Charter Member of Tau Rho Chapter (1964), Fredericksburg, Virginia, and a Life Member of the Fraternity. He served the Fraternity in various capacities and was always willing to give a kind word to the brothers and provide uplift in a time of need. It’s believed that Brother Roane holds the unique distinction of being the first African American (whose parents were both African Americans) to be born in the young Soviet Union (founded December 30, 1922).
Arriving at his father’s ancestral home in Kremlin, Virginia, in 1936 and speaking no English, he soon bonded with childhood and lifelong friend and neighbor, Cherry Dowling. Brother Roane attended elementary school in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and joined Potomac Baptist Church at an early age. He graduated from A. T. Johnson High School in 1949. He attended Delaware State College and graduated from Saint Paul’s Polytechnic Institute (Saint Paul’s College) in 1955. He enlisted for active duty in the United States Navy in December 1955.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he was employed by the Westmoreland County Public Schools in 1958 as an elementary teacher at the newly built Cople-Montross Elementary School. Having taught over the years in several schools, he retired from the school system in 1981. Brother Roane became more involved with the family farm business and opened a barbershop at McCoy’s corner.
Brother Roane was also a musician. He recorded a jazz record while a student at Delaware State College. He was a saxophonist with the renowned Blast from the Past band until the band dissolved in the 1990s.
His civic contributions involved founding memberships in the Westmoreland County Optimist Club, Westmoreland Volunteer Rescue Squad, and the A. T. Johnson Alumni Association. He held memberships in the A. T. Johnson Museum of African American Education and Culture as a member of the Board of Trustees, Westmoreland County Chapter of NAACP, Westmoreland County Democratic Committee, St Paul’s College Alumni Association, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and his family’s ancestral beloved Potomac Baptist Church.
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